"I’m going BACK to therapy..." Talkspace Review + Reflection

Life is hard. Adulting is indeed a whirlwind. If you read my latest post, you know that over the last year of my life I’ve been going through it. As my mental health was suffering due to a combination of factors such as dealing with a stressful Ph.D. program, feeling isolated, and adulting responsibilities.

Going into this semester, I knew that I would need more support to sustain my mental health, so I decided to look into therapy. Where I live there is a severe lack of mental health professionals, and I didn’t want to put a strain on my schedule to make the commitment to drive 40 minutes each way for therapy.

After sorting through my limited options, I opted for giving the Talkspace app a try. I feel like I hear a Talkspace add at least four times a week due to the podcasts I listen too, so I trusted the suggestions and downloaded the app.

In my mind downloading the app and not throwing it in one of the folders on my home screen was a big step. I let it sit there for about a week... then I had a bad day. A bad day led me to open up the app and log in.

The Intake Process:

So before you’re required to select your subscription package and give payment, you go through an intake process where you text with an intake counselor about why you’re seeking therapy. After you talk to the intake counselor, they explain the subscription options to you.

Therapy can be expensive, and I’m glad that I have a support system who is willing to help me financially. The subscription breakdowns can be found on the Talkspace site. I chose to go with the text plan in the beginning for a few different reasons, the main one being I prefer to write about how I feel.

I paid a total of $130 for my first month by using a discount code. For the duration of my sessions, I will be billed $196 per month.

After I paid for the subscription, I was matched with 3 therapists who fit my needs and goals for therapy. You have the option to be re-matched if you don’t like the profiles of the first 3 therapists you’re matched with. You also have the opportunity to switch therapist whenever you’d like, so if any issues arise with a specific therapist, you’re allowed to request someone else to talk to.

I’ve been speaking with my therapist for about two weeks, here’s how I feel about Talkspace thus far.

The app and intake process is entirely colorblind. As someone who struggles with being the only black person in spaces, I feel like that has played a significant role in my feelings of isolation while I’m living in California. During the entire intake process, my race and age weren’t asked. Now I know for some people that is ok, but for me, being black is a large part of my identity, and I would like my therapist to know that. Sometimes I feel like my therapist envisions me as a white woman in her late 20’s and it's a bit awkward. I was also matched with 3 white women during my initial intake. I’m sure the fact that I’m black will come up in conversation when I begin to discuss the root of my mental health, but I was surprised general demographics weren’t asked in the beginning.

It feels good to “emotionally dump” on someone who is trained to help me look at my circumstances in a different light. It was nice to hear particle tips and suggestions to overcome my emotional state, rather than venting to someone and them saying “I hope it gets better.”

I don’t feel as isolated. As I’ve mentioned before, dealing with feelings of isolation and anxiety drew me to therapy. I’ve found in just a few weeks that having therapy on my phone has allowed me to talk through my problems when they arrive rather than letting things bottle up.

So far I’m enjoying Talkspace and would recommend it to someone who wants to start therapy but can't go in person due to time or location restraints. I’ll be sharing an update in a month to give more perspectives and a more detailed review on if Talkspace works as well as ‘traditional’ therapy.

If you’re interested in trying Talkspace click here to receive $50 off your first billing cycle.